At the highest level threat modeling can be described as an organized method by which security professionals evaluate the risks and possible consequences of security threats on software and systems. While threat modeling is usually carried out in the development phase of software but it could also be performed proactively across a range of technology assets used by enterprises to track the risk that is ongoing.
What are the reasons why threat modeling is important?
If it is integrated into the security culture within an organization threat modeling can assist security personnel ensure that essential security measures exist and capable of addressing the ever-changing threats that they face across their platforms. If they do not conduct a thorough review of the systems and software and systems, unintentional or new threats are likely to be unprotected and exposed which could make organizations vulnerable to attacks on their data or cyber-attacks.
Threat modeling also helps security professionals assess their security when they are reviewing newly created or purchased software. It provides an opportunity to fully know how new software and tools are vulnerable and how they can be minimized, and what negative consequences they might be if they are not addressed. In the end, companies are able to make informed choices about the security of new tools and applications to their business and prioritize changes based on the estimated effects and the severity of security risks.
Find out more at threat-modeling.com.
How else can threat modeling assist your security team? What else can it offer to the security of the technology you own?
1. Threat modeling can decrease the attacks
In the context of security an attack surface is the number of vulnerabilities organizations have exposed over their entire corporate environment.
Conducting threat modeling in the development of software or on a regular basis as component of proactive assessment at a different scale can decrease the threat surface of an organization by:
Making an inventory of vulnerability being able to detect and track the list of vulnerabilities can help security professionals adopt the appropriate steps to minimize their impact or request the necessary resources needed to tackle these vulnerabilities. As time passes, vulnerabilities are tracked and monitored so that the progress made against them be assessed.
The ability to reduce complexity: One strength in threat modelling is the capability to make teams dissect a system or piece of software, and examine it from multiple perspectives to ensure that it is understood from beginning to the end. If this happens, the software designs can be analyzed then refined and improved to prevent errors that could be prevented to be released in production environment.
Reduce risk exposure every risk can be totally eliminated; companies may decide to accept the risk and try to limit any negative consequences. Threat modeling can assist in limit the risk of exposure and ultimately reduce the vulnerability of systems through the addition of additional security tools or tools to protect vulnerable components.
2. Threat modeling can help prioritize threats in mitigation, budgeting and planning
Like any other business endeavor businesses should prioritize their resources. This is the case when dealing with cybersecurity threats. Threat modeling allows organizations to identify vulnerabilities and risks to ensure those that require the greatest attention and attention do to reduce the threat surface in an effective way to do so.
Threat modeling is also a way for companies evaluate their purchase decisions. If a group is considering whether or not to go with the latest system or tool the threat model can assist to assess the security risks that it could pose and help make an informed choice on whether or not the tool is worthy of being adopted. Additionally, threat modeling could assist organizations in prioritizing improvements to their software to determine if it’s economical to reduce risks or take on risks in comparison to the expense to replace or upgrade.
3. Threat modeling helps identify and eliminate one-off failure points
Defense-in-depthis a security concept which encourages businesses to utilize an layered view of defensive tools in order to protect their assets, is a way to lower the likelihood that hackers could exploit the weakness of a single element within an entire system. In the real world, organizations incorporate various types of security including technical, administrative and physical, into their methods of design and security procedures.
Threat modeling can assist in not only pinpoint areas where vulnerabilities could be present in the software or across a system but also provide confirmation that the controls currently implemented are sufficient to ensure the level of security the security experts and leadership of organizations would like to achieve.
4. Threat modeling can help you comprehend the entire cyberattack kill chain
A cyber-kill chain is which is a well-known model for cybersecurity developed in the event response team of Lockheed Martin, outlines the steps that an outside attacker might take to break into and attack the network. It breaks up various steps that range from reconnaissance to actions on the goals and even the removal of stolen data and provides the tactics and steps to help an organization be prepared in advance to stop attackers at every step.
As discussed in our “What is threat modeling” article Threat modeling allows organizations to dissect software and systems to evaluate and assess risks, and then identify and present mitigations for each. This way, threat modeling can assist organizations to navigate through every step of the kill chain systematic way, and use this as an opportunity to determine ways to integrate important defensive mechanisms, such as those outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK threat modeling model.
Find: Identify activities of an adversary or their impacts
Deter: Refrain the adversary from carrying out other activities, by instilling doubt or fear that the actions will have the intended effect.
Avoid an attack in the event of an attack
Disrupt: render the enemy’s actions ineffective
Degrade: Reduce its effectiveness activity by an adversary
Deceive: Convince your adversary to accept that there is false details about the defense system mission, groups, or defense capabilities
5. Threat modeling can help improve the security posture of your business
The goal of any cybersecurity initiative is to improve your security capabilities for your business What is it that is it that makes threat modeling different?
Assessing your security practices
As we’ve mentioned threat modelling is an effective technique to document all aspects of software or a system. In the end, you’re documenting the essential elements of each technical asset that your company is concerned about as well as the ways you plan to safeguard them, the mitigation options available and the threats your team is trying to shield it from. This inventory could be utilized to facilitate discussions between groups and share information to senior management.
Based upon the model you use the team will be able to access an exhaustive list of or a visual representation of your system’s settings, behavior and functions. It can be used to analyze the threat intelligence information, as well as known security vulnerabilities, and current safeguards — initially as well as over time.
Be sure to monitor your security program
By utilizing this method of quantification of time, over time threat modeling can allow your company to monitor improvements against security benchmarks objectives and standards of compliance in the course of time. Along with other metrics related to security the ability to record the amount of vulnerabilities discovered and rectified can help educate senior management of the vital role security experts play in protecting operations.
As time passes, and threat modeling becomes a frequent aspect of your governance and development processes the amount of threats identified may decrease while your business grows and gets more interconnected.
Evaluation of security structure
Additionally, threat modeling can assist in providing the continuity and consistency you need to your overall security strategy. Alongside other security measures that are in place using a threat modeling method can offer a well-organized and consistent method for systems and software to be assessed, making sure that evaluations don’t differ according to the individual who is in the process or on the date the evaluation is carried out.
When employees leave and come back and leave, having a consistent process in place can facilitate the transfer of knowledge and ensure that the key elements and priorities of a security program are clearly documented.
6. Threat modeling improves the security of your application
From the standpoint in software development, threat modeling offers a variety of important advantages at the application level. Particularly threat modeling could help to:
Increase visibility of operations: While the majority of security tools focus on securing and monitoring risks at the corporate level, threat modeling at the application level could give developers exact operational information about what particular applications (and which parts of the applications) are most susceptible to cyber attacks. Armed with this data, developers can focus their efforts on fixing their applications, and security experts can make sure that the required security measures are put in place.
Improve quality assurance: When combined with existing tests and quality assurance procedures threat modeling could help developers gain greater insight regarding security risks that might arise when the software is in the process of design. Threat mitigations that are essential to the security of the software can be added to secure code guidelines or prioritized for inclusion in development. Furthermore, threat modeling could be utilized to complement automated vulnerability testing and scanning tools, so security professionals need not worry about the risk of false negatives or discover zero-day vulnerabilities before attackers do.
Improve collaboration by mixing the experiences and perspectives of security experts, managers and possible end users and developers can help in enhancing the understanding of software being developed or evaluated, thereby increasing the level of collaboration and a greater understanding of the details of what is being brought into the network before the resources are exhausted. As time passes, this increased engagement could help in forming new professional relationships so that the work to come can be completed faster and also increase security awareness throughout the company regardless of position.